Team Built Systems to Protect World Cup Crowds, Then Funding Ended

Michael Silevitch leads SENTRY, a Department of Homeland Security funded center focused on protecting soft targets such as mom-and-pop grocery stores, sports arenas, schools and places of worship. Last April he was instructed to end all work immediately. His team had been working on two major events this summer: the 2026 World Cup final in New Jersey and America 250, the nation’s 250th birthday celebration.

They were working with NJ Transit to control crowds arriving at stations for the World Cup, and viewed America 250 celebrations in every state as potential targets for drone attacks. Research at the center aimed to improve emergency evacuations by calming panicked crowds and guiding them to minimize harm, including creating digital twins of venues to run simulations.

Other projects included a portable sensor to detect chemical and biological threats such as anthrax, described as more sensitive than a dog’s nose and ready to be tested, and plans for real-time command centers using video, radar and other inputs.

United States, New Jersey

sentry, dhs, world cup, new jersey, america 250, nj transit, crowd control, digital twin, portable sensor, anthrax